Darknut
by Ginger Sheikah
Summary: "What lies beneath that cold, silent stare?" I asked softly as my trembling fingers drew closer to the knight's helmet. He was my only companion in the constant dusk. "Are you a man or ghost or…something else? Will you show me..." Throughout time, Darknuts have been seen in the service of evil. Now, in the Twilight, Zelda finds herself in the company of this mysterious foe.


HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! Okay so...this one is weird and I am weird for writing it, but I absolutely love it. This idea has been floating around in my head for the better part of five years and I've always debated on if I should write it or not. Now that I've had a little time on my hands and want to take a break from my other projects, I decided that if I don't get this story out now, it'll always be there, wanting to be written. So, tell me what you think! All comments, concerns, constructive criticism or anything helpful and respectful will be welcome! Happy Reading!

* * *

Do not judge me so harshly as you read my words, telling of a story that I must release from the prison of my mind. This ordeal has burdened me greatly and I find that I must share my experience to ease the weight that has been put on my soul.

It all began when, in the early days of my confinement, I tried to make a desperate escape. The Twilight beasts that were put outside my door to guard me were mindless creatures, easily tricked and subdued even in my weakened state. I left their stunned bodies behind and flew down the stony steps of my tower prison. Midna and a shaggy gray wolf had visited me just moments before. The mark of the Triforce was on the animal's left paw…the mark of the Hero of Time. That sparked a wild sense of hope in me. My footsteps echoed in the eerie Twilight world as I ran through the halls of the devastated castle. The throne room was not far from my prison. I thought that if I could just reach my throne room, I could confront Zant and maybe, just maybe claim a victory over the Twilight invasion.

I was almost there. Heavy chains bound the doors leading to the Throne Room stairs. I threw myself on the chains and tugged with all my strength. The chains clinked mockingly at me and my eyes began to sting with tears. Terrible realization washed over me and I became aware of how stupid it had been, running out of my tower to defeat Zant on my own. I could not defeat him when he first invaded my Throne Room. Why did I think I could defeat him now? Still, I vainly pulled at the chains, hoping that the goddesses would somehow intervene.

Someone else did come to intervene, to my surprise. Someone I was not expecting. A hand grabbed my shoulder and roughly yanked me around. All I saw was armor and what looked like a glowing white wound. I looked up and an arrogant, familiar face glared back down at me.

"Ganondorf?" I gasped "How are you alive?" All my life, I had been told that the Gerudo king had been executed at the hands of the sages, years and years ago. Now, he was here in the flesh! Was this the true power behind the Twilight invasion? I backed against the door, trying to quickly gather my power to defend myself. His mouth curled into a sneer and his grip squeezed on my shoulder before I could do anything. I cried out in pain and I heard him laugh cruelly.

"The better question is, Princess," he growled, his voice rough and ominous. "How did you escape your Tower?" Tighter and tighter his grip grew and my breath stopped. He was holding me with his left hand…the hand that bore the Triforce of Power. I could feel a heat coursing through me. He was using his Triforce against me. The pain was excruciating. I fell to my knees. He did not relinquish his grip.

"Stop—" I panted. My vision was growing dark. The pain was too much. "Please—" The room was slipping away. Ganondorf's pitiless face faded. Before I lost consciousness, I just happened to look behind my attacker. A hulking figure stood at the top of the stairs, concealed by the shadows. It looked like a knight. All that I could make out was gilded armor, head to toe, and a massive sword. My last thought was wondering if that giant knight was here to save me.

When I came to, I was lying face down on the cold, stone floor. Slowly, painfully, I crawled to my knees. My shoulder throbbed from where Ganondorf's fingers clutched into my flesh. The door was closed shut. I stood to my feet and shuffled to the door, my strength returning. It had not been shut before my attempt at escape. My hand wrapped around the bronze handle and I pushed, not knowing what to expect. To my surprise, the door swung open easily. This was strange, I thought. Surely Ganondorf would have made sure that I would not be able to escape again. I heard a slight, echoing thud and the door stopped as it hit something solid. There was a flash of gold and steel, and then the sound of heavy footfalls. The door creaked open just a little more and I was able to peek through the crack and see what was in the way.

That same figure I had seen behind Ganondorf was towering over me, blocking my only means of escape. I yelped and jumped back in fright. The door stayed open. My shock quickly wore off and I stepped back, wanting to see exactly what my new guard was. He, for I assumed that the armor-clad knight was a he, stood perfectly still. His massive sword was out and he was leaning heavily against it. The crested helmet was looking—pointed in my general direction, really—right at me. Silence.

"So, you're my new guard," I questioned boldly, thinking I could provoke him into a banter and perhaps find a weakness. My new guard said nothing. I could not even see the rise and fall of his chest. Was this entity even alive? There was something organic, something about this knight that made me believe he was not of the Twilight…this was something made from Ganondorf.

For a long while I stood there, peeking through the door at this stoic sentinel, trying to figure him out. He let me, but only just. By the way my door barely opened, I was not going any farther. Nothing of interest was happening, and there was no point in trying to escape anymore. The sword was nearly as tall as I was, and twice as heavy. With my own powers diluted by the Twilight and not knowing any weaknesses, there was no chance that I could stand against this enemy. I closed the door and retreated to the shadowy corner of my prison room.

Soon enough, the endless cycle of Twilight became lonely and monotonous. Midna and the Hero would surely not return. They had a mission to accomplish. Only the most dire of needs would cause them to come back to her. The door stayed tightly shut. Silence droned on and on, and my mind began to slowly unravel. Never before had I been so forlorn, so vulnerable. I could not tell day from night. Nothing about this Twilight was natural. I belonged to light and day, not the cold, unforgiving world of eternal dusk.

That tower room became achingly small. I could count the paces from one side of the room to the other, and the number was terribly small. I found it difficult to breathe, desperate for wider spaces. How long had it been since I had ran through the corridors of my castle, looking for the throne room? It became too much for me to handle. I absolutely had to leave that depressing tower prison. My feet wandered to the door. It had not been open in far too long. Without hesitation, I pushed against the wooden door. The creaking of the hinges sounded startlingly loud on the Twilight.

There he was, standing in the exact same position that I had left him in. Part of me wondered if he had moved an inch since I last saw him. I only opened the door a crack, frightened that he would attack me if I came too far. There was no movement, no protest from the silent knight. I opened my mouth, trying to find my words. It had been quite some time since I had spoken…

"Please," I begged to the gilded helmet, silently staring at me through the crack in the door. "Please just let me have this door open. I cannot stand to be trapped in this room like a dog in a cage!" My pleas were met only with silence. I dared myself to push the door a little wider, but the knight slowly raised an armored hand and barred my way. Though I leaned my whole weight against the door, it took only a gentle push of the knight's hand to stop me from leaving.

"I promise that I will not run. I could not even if I tried!"

The Twilight beasts were easy to subdue. This giant, hulking mass of metal and steel was far too strong for me to handle without the full use of my powers. It would take a great warrior to even stand a chance with this enemy. In vain, I pushed against the door one more time and focused my attention on my silent companion.

"Please," I whispered again, cursing myself for the tears I felt in my eyes. "I will not try to escape. I know that I am a prisoner, but please…" I choked back a wave of emotion and tried to put on a strong façade. "I need some room to breathe. Let me have this door open. Let me at least walk around in the entry…" It was a futile request, but I had to try. So we entered a voiceless stalemate. I stared into the eyeless helmet that stoically gazed back at me. I wondered what thoughts were swirling behind the layers of armor. Was he considering letting me have this tiny drop of freedom? My question was soon answered when I felt the door push beneath my hand. The door was closing. My hopes fell as I watched the slit grow smaller and smaller, all the while my strange guard and I never breaking our gaze. Slowly, the door shut with a snap that echoed eerily in the twilight world. I stood there for a few minutes, defeated, with the lonely tower room behind me.

As foolish as it may sound, I tried again hours later. Out of stubbornness and a desperate need to be free of my isolated room, I tried again and again and again. Each time I would make the same request and each time I would be calmly denied by the slow closing of the door and a blind gaze from an eyeless helmet. Yet my constant pleading and begging must have worn him down as the days went by. It took him longer each time to deny me. Our silent stalemate would drag on and I would pray that his resolve would crumble. It would be a small, foolish victory, but one that I so greatly needed. Then came the day when I opened the doors and the strong hands holding me back did not push them shut. When I dared myself to push even more, to my surprise, the doors swung wide open. I stood there, waiting to see if it was a cruel joke. The knight was there, standing just beyond the threshold. Hesitantly, I took a step out of my prison. I was not stopped. It was a strange feeling I had, that moment he let me into the stone entryway of the tower room. The entry was hardly bigger than the room I had just left, but the air was clearer and it felt refreshing to be in a different place. Nervously, I glanced over at the knight. If he was aware of my presence, he did not acknowledge it. I quickly stepped past him and casually wandered around the landing. When I wandered too close to the stairs, I heard the groaning of metal and I looked behind me. The knight, moving at a surprising pace, strode past me and quickly made his post at the top of the stairs.

"Nothing gets past you, does it," I mocked bitterly. I stared at him for a few more seconds. I had never seen anything like him before. None of my men were as tall and dominating as this person, so I knew that he wasn't a disloyal Hylian. "What are you?" I asked. I'm not sure why I expected a response. Silence answered me, and I gave up speaking with him.

Though I was now allowed to have a reprieve from my Tower, the silence was still suffocating. Endless days would pass without me hearing the voice of another creature. The Twili beasts were unintelligible, speaking in harsh screeches. I refused to find companionship in Zant, not that he ever bothered to darken my door. It was in my silent guardian that I eventually found strange company.

For a time, I would wander out into the entry and the knight would take his stoic stance at the top of the stairs. We would exchange silence and I would begin an obsessive pacing back and forth. He just stood there, watching, watching, always watching. The Twilight was eating away at my sanity. The demure Princess that I had been the day Zant attacked was buried beneath this fraying, fragile girl. After a few weeks of the small allowance of freedom, a sudden annoyance flared in me one particularly lonely day. I was walking from one end of the room to the other, cutting occasional glares at the knight. My anger at my situation was burning through me like a fire.

"I'm just like a caged animal, aren't I?" I blurted out as I passed by the silent watcher. My voice sounded strangely dreamy in the Twilight. "Is this amusing to you, watching me pace back and forth?" I demanded as I marched bravely to him. No reaction. For some reason, this only flared my anger.

"Do you report it back to Zant and all his minions and have a good laugh at my expense? Do you even speak at all? Why do you never talk?" Nothing. Only silence. I stared him down, silently demanding an answer. It was to no avail. My anger slowly faded away and I felt emotionally spent. I sighed and let my tense shoulders relax. "It doesn't matter now, does it? Ganondorf is your master. Why should I even be worried about holding a conversation with you? We are enemies, you and I…"

I looked up at the knight and stared into the eyeless helmet. Knowing that my voice was heard by someone other than myself was an odd comfort to me. My feet leading the way with my mind numbly obeying, I sat down on the stone floor, dignity forgotten, and drew my knees up to my chin. "Still…" I whispered to the silence. "This loneliness is driving me mad." I glanced back up at the knight. Unsurprisingly, he had not moved an inch from his position by the stairs. He did not look back down at me. My companion might as well have been carved from stone. Still, it felt better to talk to an impassive companion than nobody at all.

So began a new routine. After waking from a restless sleep, I would stand watch by the window, looking for any sign of Midna and the Hero or to search for a break in the Twilight. After my disappointing vigil, I would make my way to the door. Nothing would bar my way as I pushed the handle and crossed into the entryway. As usual, the gilded figure would linger by the stairs. I would pace around the small entry, as if anything had changed from the last time, and then I would sit myself by the knight. He would not acknowledge me. He would show no signs of even noticing that I existed, but I would make myself known. I would begin an hours long, one-sided conversation. It started off by me expressing my dislike for the Twilight, and Zant, and his master Ganondorf. Gradually, as the days passed and I became more comfortable with my silent comrade, my words shifted to thoughts and feelings. It was therapeutic to me, venting my frustration and fears to somebody who would not talk back or argue or silence me. Ganondorf would have given me no such respect. I could not even imagine the ways in which he would have silenced me…

It never occurred to me that my words would be reported back to his master. My companion was not truly alive, I decided. Perhaps he was just an empty shell and was not sentient…just a suit of armor being controlled by a strong force. I felt safe that what was said in that tower would stay between the two of us.

It was utter madness, but I soon started to look forward to my conversations with the knight. He became a peculiar companion to me in my isolated tower room. In my talks with him, I called him my "Twilight friend." I felt like I had entirely lost my mind, talking with a voiceless suit of armor that was in service to my enemy and enjoying the one-sided friendship. If I had truly lost my mind from the Twilight, then I had happily accepted the loss.

My words of frustration changed to talking about myself. I told him about my childhood, growing up groomed to become the perfect princess of Hyrule but instead sneaking away from my tutors to ride my pony in the fields surrounding the castle. I confessed to him the difficulty of my adolescent years, about losing my parents and becoming the sole ruler of the kingdom at a tender age. Secrets and hopes and dreams poured from my heart to the chilly, unnatural twilight air. That knight, in time, became the one person who knew me better than anyone else. I had long grown past having qualms about revealing the contents of my soul to the knight. Something told me that not a word would reach Ganondorf's ears. It was the only way to pass the endless hours, speaking with him. Nothing he did ever changed. He always stood there, saying nothing. Not moving.

Yet there was one day, when something did happen. It was so small, so insignificant but it was the catalyst that sparked the start of a change. I was sitting next to him, my thick black cloak draped around my shoulders. My hands were tangled up in a burgundy scar, shielding them from the chilly air. This time, I was confessing to my Twilight friend about a rebellious wish of mine.

"I know that I've said before, how much I love horses. My father…he would search far and wide for the finest horses for me. They were delicate, glossy creatures with manes as fine as silk and bloodlines as impressive as my own. I had several of these fine horses, but there was one stallion that had my heart. He was not mine. He belonged to the stable boy, but I was allowed to saddle him and ride any time that I wanted. He was a tall, stocky thing with a coat as dark as night. I have never seen such a thick, muscled horse as this one. His bloodline was muddled, his master not even knowing exactly what breeds had come together to create him. In the eyes of breeders and buyers, he was worthless but he was priceless to me. He was intimidating with his massive, feathered hooves and black coat, but he was a gentle soul. A child could have ridden him and he would have been so careful, so calm. Not even my purebred mares were as temperate as he. His name was Beren. When I was a teenager, I would dress in common clothes. No crown, no gowns, just me and in a simple cotton dress. I would saddle Beren and together we would ride. I would ride as far as I could, making sure that I would be back in time so that I wouldn't worry anyone. But I wanted to go on. I dreamed of riding on forever, chasing the sun on the horizon. I was so young still. The burden of my royal duties was so pressing. I was still agonizing over the death of my parents. It seemed a perfect escape to me, riding away on Beren and never looking back. I had a plan of riding to Termina and starting a new life, raising horses of my own. It was foolish, but at the time, I wanted nothing to do with being Princess. I just wanted to be free. I wanted to race through the fields and forests, wind whipping in my hair and troubles far behind me…It was the foolish whim of a dreamy teenaged girl, but I knew that I was needed here. I was the direct heir to the Throne. My duty was to Hyrule…not Termina. But still, I dreamed of it. I might have done it too, in a moment of weakness, but the stable boy's father died and he left the castle to take care of the family farm left behind. He needed Bear. He could not run the farm without him. Part of me wanted to buy Bear from him and give him enough money to replace him with another working horse, but I could not do it. Bear was not my horse. As much as I loved him, he was loyal to his master. It would have been an utter disaster if I had run away," I scoffed. "I would have come home with my tail between my legs in an instant. It was best that Bear went away. I truly might have done it. I was so young and so broken. I did not see how much my kingdom needed me. Eventually, I grew up and my aching sadness began to heal. My passion did become my duty as Princess. I would give my life for Hyrule…I might already have." I sighed and stared gloomily at the Twilight.

"But I still think about it…running away with Beren and what would have happened if I had raced towards the horizon and started a new life beyond the borders of Hyrule. I wouldn't be here with you, Twilight friend. You might be guarding my second cousin instead…he was next in line to the Throne and I have to say, he is not as pleasant company as I am. Aren't you so lucky to have me here instead?" I laughed, looking up at him.

My heart nearly leapt out of my chest! In all the countless hours I had spent with him, he never once strayed an inch from his stoic stance. Now he had turned his head. That helmet was staring straight down at me. I was so startled, so shocked that there might actually be something inside that armor, that I jumped in fright. My head cracked against the stone wall and I yelped in pain. White stars swam in my vision. I scrambled to my feet, head spinning, and backed up until I hit the wooden door. That gilded helmet followed my movements. My heart pounded. He was not supposed to move, screamed a frantic voice in my head. He was not supposed to be alive! What was this thing that I had spent hours upon hours I had spent my time with?

"What are you?" I demanded, my muscles tensed and ready to flee into the safety of my room. A calmer voice in the back of my head reassured that if he had wanted to do me harm, he would have already done so. But the sight of him moving other than to guard me, made me feel terribly uneasy.

To make matters worse, the knight began to walk, making his way across the room. He stopped right in front of me. I wanted to scream, but my throat was closed with fear. My hands shook as I searched for the door handle. "For so long, you've been silent and still, and now you show signs of life?" I whispered. I knew my fear was irrational, but I feared even more what underneath that helmet. "All this time, I've thought that you were just…a suit of armor filled with nothing, but now you move, you follow my movement…I need to know what I have befriended!" For the longest while, we stood toe to toe, neither one speaking. Did he wait for me to say something? Did he want me to do something? My fear was fading, though my heart still pounded, and I felt silly for acting like such a fool. I wanted answers now. I wanted to lift that helmet and see what my Twilight friend was. Bravely, I pried my fingers off the door handle and stood on my toes, trying to reach the helmet.

"What lies beneath that cold, silent stare?" I asked softly as my trembling fingers drew closer to the knight's helmet. He was my only companion in the constant dusk. "Are you a man or ghost or…something else? Will you show me?"

Out of the darkness, cold metal fingers wrapped themselves around my wrist. A chill ran through me. The knight was touching me. He pushed my arm down back to my side. I could feel strength in his grip, though he was not rough or causing me pain. I faintly remembered Ganondorf's touch, cruel and painful.

I looked up at him, feeling slighted by his denial. Then I felt foolish that I felt slighted by a mysterious suit of armor. Tears pricked at my eyes. Everything about this Twilight was humiliating.

"You are a servant of Ganondorf. I should have never even spoken to you at all. I won't be coming back." I hissed. My fingers found the door and I turned my back on the knight. My tower room miserably greeted me. I shut the door with a loud snap and stomped my way over to the window. Still, my heart was beating and my chest was heavy. I felt like a fool for finding a companion in him. What in the goddesses' name was I even thinking? I felt angry with myself. I felt like I had been taken in, duped, fooled. The Twilight flickered outside my window and I glared back at it. Everything about this world of shadow was deceiving and I hated being weak to it. I stormed to my bed and flung myself on the mattress. I did not know if it was night or day, but my body was suddenly very tired. The thin sheets on my bed did nothing to keep the chill away and I wished that I had not left my cloak in the entry.

Sleep did not come easily. I tossed and turned on the bed for what seemed like hours before my eyes became heavy and I drifted off. It did not feel like I had slept for long before the creaking of my door interrupted my dreamless sleep. Dazed, I rolled over to see who was visiting me. My tired mind, still half asleep, immediately thought of Midna and the Hero. The light in my room was hazy and dim. My eyes were still blurry and I could see that something was indeed in my room. It was big. Much bigger than Midna and much bigger than the wolf that was the Hero. I sat up, rubbing my eyes, thinking that the Hero had lifted his curse and turned back into his Hylian form.

"Midna?" I mumbled sleepily. "Have you returned?" I opened my eyes, almost fully awake.

It was not Midna. It was not the Hero.

It was the armored, silent knight, a towering giant in my tiny room. Fear froze me to the spot. My gaze locked on him, watching him as he marched to my bed. Any screams or cries for help stuck in my throat. Who would have actually come to my aid? He stopped, just a few feet from me, and stood as stoically as always. I let out a breath, the tension leaving my body, and I gathered up the courage to speak. "What are you doing here," I asked in a stilted, terse voice. Nothing. Silence as always.

"What are you doing here," I asked again, more urgently. "I do not want any contact with you." I looked up at him. He looked different with the glow of Twilight outside dully shining on his armor. He was far more imposing standing over me while I sat on my bed, vulnerable and helpless.

"I don't know what you are," I whispered as my voice shook. "I'm afraid of you," I admitted. I was not ashamed to show my fear. What dignity did I have left at this moment?

I did not expect what happened next. There was a pause, silence between us as it always was and then…

"You have nothing to fear," came a warped, raspy voice from behind the armor. This time, I was silent. I stared at the helmet, not sure if I believed that I heard the voice coming from the knight.

"You…you spoke?" I asked, my voice small and tremulous.

Maybe I was still asleep? Maybe this was a dream? The knight did not speak to me. Yet the raspy voice quickly answered me.

"Yes, against the orders of my master, I will speak to you. I have not spoken in ages. But I must speak to you. You deserve to know what I am. You deserve to know who, in your words, you have befriended…" With trepidation, I watched as the knight lifted his fingers to his head and slowly pulled off the helmet. Beneath was another helmet, smaller and with a crown-like design on the brow. Still, there was darkness beneath the slits of the eyes. But he was not finished. The crested helmet fell to the floor with a clang and without hesitation, the knight lifted the crowned helmet from his head. A red protective hood covered the face of the being beneath. My chest was tight as I held my breath, not knowing what would be revealed once the red hood was peeled away.

"Do not fear what you see. I am sorry to have frightened you before. You have nothing to fear," a deep voice gently reminded me. The voice did not sound like that of a monster, but rather that of a human man. My eyes fluttered upwards and I came face-to-face with the man beneath the mask.

For it was indeed a man. A mane of shoulder-length dark hair had fallen from beneath the red rood. He looked as though he were suffering from a debilitating sickness. His face was gaunt and his skin ashen, but he looked as though he had once been a handsome and robust man. I almost felt shy to be in his presence. A beard matching his dark hair covered his features. He did not have the pointed ears of a Hylian, but his ears were rounded and mostly covered by his hair. Brown eyes intently gazed down at me. His eyes seemed to be the only thing about him that sparked life. His entire aura was gray and lifeless, but his eyes…they were kind and soulful.

Mesmerized by this man beneath the mask, I pushed away my covers and stood to my feet. "What are you?" I asked once more in a breathless voice. The man, whatever he was, reached out and brushed a strand of wayward hair out of my eyes. My toes tingled as I smoothed out my hair, my eyes never leaving my peculiar visitor.

"Princess Zelda," the man said, his voice was no longer warped by the helmet. He had a solemn, steady voice, one that my ears found pleasant to listen to. His was a voice that could be trusted, I decided.

"You have told me so much about yourself. It is only fair that I do the same…" He began. "I was a man once, from an age long since passed by. One could even say that I am ancient. I lived in a time when the world was still very new and the goddesses were never far from the realm of mortals. I was a man that lusted for power, for immortality. The thought of death struck a deep and inconsolable fear into me. Though I was physically mighty and strong, I was weak in spirit and I was desperate to find a way to evade the inevitable death. I do not know how he sought me out and knew of my desires, but a man came to me as he came to all of his chosen ones. There was an aura about him that was strange and mysterious, but he had an enticing promise; serve him loyally and I will be rewarded with immortality and power. Back in those days, I was already an immensely strong, feared warrior, loyal to my vassal that I served. Though I was a good man, I was swayed to forsake my vassal by the promises of greater power than I already possessed and of course…the chance to live forever. I was a fool, however, to promise my loyalty to a man that I knew nothing about.I was not the only one that he had convinced to follow him. There were scores of men that were given the same promise. Many of them were warriors, like myself, though it seemed as though I were the strongest and largest of them all. There were others there from different walks of life. He had sought out not only chivalrous knights and great warriors, but vagrants and sellswords who proved their worth to him. It struck me as odd that he would freely give away immortality and strength to so many. I became suspicious of what this man's true intentions were. Several others agreed with me and we made the decision to revoke our so-called gifts. Yet, we were too late. By agreeing to follow him, we were already bound to him, he said. Then before our very eyes, the man's flesh fell away and he transformed into a demon king that called himself Demise. We were indeed granted immortality and our earthly strength was increased by tenfold, but at a terrible price. The men became completely his. We were no longer living beings, no longer human, living between life and death, not truly alive but not able to die. Demise owned our very souls and in turn we became his personal warriors, mindlessly obeying his every whim and order. Our own will was crushed beneath the will of Demise. Our personalities were wiped away. Every emotion, thought, and feeling that we once had were now fading echoes in our consciousness. The people beneath the armor were nothing more than the soulless, living dead. He took our voices from us, commanding our absolute silence, and gave us thick, heavy armor. Our identities were forever sealed away. We all became the voiceless, faceless knights of the army of Demise. I was one of his favorites, hand picked to be the mightiest of his knights. It was an honor, he told me, that I was chosen to be the greatest of all his minions. I silently obeyed and put my full loyalty in him. I had no other choice. A whisper of my old self told me to fight against my Master's will, but I had not the strength. The whisper soon faded and my very mind became lost. After he had amassed this powerful army, Demise waged war against the goddesses and the ancient land of Hyrule. He was after the divine power of the Triforce; a power, which I see, you now possess. Us knights were given a name, though not by our Master. The men and women that we battled called us the Dark Knights, though it eventually morphed into the name 'Darknut...' The true Knights that we fought against did not see us as worthy of the title of knight. We were betrayers, deserters of the goddesses. The name Darknut was that of shame. Ultimately, he was defeated and the survivors retreated to the land of the sky. And what became of us Darknuts? Well, we had been promised immortality. Though many of us died in battle, our souls were sent to a dark otherworldly place to wait until our Master called us forth to fight for him once more. Though our Master was thwarted by a Hero of old, he made another wicked promise. He would be reborn again and again in and endless cycle against the goddesses and their Hero. So with that last promise, his soul was sealed away and us knights remained in an eternal limbo, waiting for our Master to call us once more. The promise Demise warned the goddesses of has been fulfilled several times, and the Darknuts have been called into service before, and I do not doubt that we will be called again even after this war of Twilight has ended. We are eternally his servants. I am a warrior of darkness, bound by this ancient curse. My weakness for power and the chance to never die was my ultimate downfall. Yes, I am alive, but my soul is dead. My flesh is just an illusion, hiding the decaying man I truly am. I am a shadow of the man that I once was, full of life and strength and vitality. Now, I am only that…a shadow…"

As I stood there, listening to his tale, waves of sadness rushed over me. I had not realized that I had been spilling my soul to more than just a suit of armor. He was a sentient being, someone with emotions that could listen and feel…My Twilight friend was so much more. At first I could not find the words to say. His eyes bored into me, awaiting my response.

"What a terrible fate," I gasped, laying my hand on his arm. There was only cold armor beneath my touch. Yet my touch seemed to stir something within him. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, nearly hidden by his beard. "I am sorry for you," I whispered, my voice small in the darkness.

"There is nothing to be done about it," he answered, his deep voice resonating through my lonely tower room. I was not used to the sound of any voice but my own. We stood in silence once more, the man staring down at my hand on his arm. He did not seem like the mindless, murderous type. He spoke kindly and with remorse. I did not see an evil being, but rather a man with a weakness, taken advantage of. I felt the need to help him.

"What will become of you if Ganondorf is killed? Will your curse be lifted?" I asked, hoping that there would be some magical loophole that we could use to free him.

The man shook his head. "I cannot say…I do not know what will happen to me."

My heart sank. "There must be some way for you to be free," I pleaded. Suddenly I wanted nothing more than to free him of his curse. He said nothing to me, giving me a silence that I was accustomed to. His face was solemn as he stared at me, and I wondered what he was thinking.

"Do you want to be free?" I questioned hesitantly. Was he so far entangled in the power of Demise, now Ganondorf, that he had no desire to be free? My companion was silent for a moment more. He took a step towards me and placed a heavy hand on my shoulder. In a strained voice, he whispered "more than anything."

My heart wrenched and I found myself placing my hand over his. The armor was solid beneath my touch. "I'll find a way, somehow" I assured. Then he smiled at me. Despite his massive size and intimidating demeanor, the man had a warm smile. I could not help but smile back, though I felt strangely nervous.

"You loyally serve your Master, yet you speak to me freely now," I mused aloud. Though I felt he had no ulterior motives, it seemed contradictory that he would disobey his Master and speak for the first time in ages. Part of me was hopeful that I could turn this Darknut over to my side…"Where does your allegiance truly lie?"

"I am eternally bound to my master. I cannot help but follow his orders. However, in recent events…in knowing you, I must say that I am more inclined to the Light…" My knees felt weak and I imagined the man he must have been when he was still mortal. My knees were practically melting away at the thought.

I shook my head slightly, making my thoughts go back to the present. It was ridiculous to dwell on that…"What made you break your Master's command and speak to me?" I quickly asked.

"In these hours that you have spent with me, pouring your heart to a silent stranger, I have come to know you. I am captivated by the woman I see. You have awakened life in me, and…" He gave me another smile, a sad smile and a small glow of life returned to his face. "It seems as though I've once again found my willpower," he replied, his voice sincere. His smile faded, but the glow remained. He looked more human now. The kindness I had seen in them changed as he answered. With his willpower returning, something else was sparking in his soul. The fire was coming through his gaze. He looked down at me with such intensity that I felt my cheeks flush and I quickly lowered my eyes to the floor.

"Look at me…" his voice gently urged. I looked back up at him. His gaze had not wavered. My heart fluttered nervously. He was reaching out to me, slowly, hesitantly. I did not shy away. Gently, he ran his steely fingers across the smooth skin of my cheeks. I shivered at his cold metal touch, yet I stood as still as stone.

"It has been so long," he rasped. "So long since I've felt the touch of another…" His fingers moved to cup my cheek. "And yet…I cannot feel the warmth of your skin."

Before I could even breathe, he moved to me. He was tall…so tall that he had to lean down far to reach me. His other hand swiftly grabbed my other cheek and his face was ever so close. I gasped, but did not back away. Instinct promised me that he was no danger. He rested his forehead against mine and I found that my own hands were gripping his arms. We stood there for a moment, suspended in silence and the unnamable tension between us. His eyes were closed, but the intensity was still there, and it was rapidly burning.

"Even if I were to strip away my armor and touch you with my bare hands, I would feel nothing. Even if I were to press my lips against yours…to no avail." No breath came from his mouth as he spoke. His thumb ran coldly across my mouth. He opened his eyes and they were bright and alive and burning. "Oh, to kiss your sweet lips and remember what it means to be alive." He clutched my face with both hands, his deep brown eyes burning with desperation, yearning to feel something beyond the cold death that he was forced to suffer in. "You, Princess, have me longing to live again. You have awakened a fire in me."

His fingers tightened their grip on my skin, but he was not forceful or rough. I felt no pain. He let out a deep sigh, but no breath came from his lungs. His eyes closed and I felt his face come closer to mine. His lips were only a breath away from mine. I closed my own eyes, numbly waiting for his lips to fall on mine. My thoughts were far away, but my foolish heart was conceding to the affection of this shadow of a man.

But he did not finish the kiss. His hands let go of my face. My eyes opened and saw the fire in him had gone out. The life was dissipated. He was grey and lifeless again. His eyes were brimming with sorrow. His face held unfathomable sadness.

"I cannot. Nothing can pull me from the darkness. Not even you. I am destined to live without knowing you. This fire must die." Even now, his skin was growing more ashen and gray, as if he were dying before my very eyes.

"My time is growing short…" he whispered sadly. "I must return to my post…I do not want you to see the dead thing that I truly am, but before I leave, I must ask you of one favor.".

"And what would that be," I asked curiously.

"Please do not forget me," he implored. "Come and find company in me again?" It was such a simple plea. How could I have denied him? "Alright," I promised. "But…only under one condition." Please…talk to me. Now that I know who you are…it would be nice for our conversations to not be so one-sided."

The fire flickered once more in his eyes and a ghost of a smile was on his lips. He bowed his head "As you wish…" he promised.

"I look forward to it," I quipped. Now, I had a question of my own. "Please, one more question before you leave."

He raised an eyebrow at me, but let me continue on. It was something that was important to me. "What was your name….when you were a mortal man?" His brows pulled into a frown. "Sadly, I cannot remember," he responded. "Demise took even that from me."

How sad, I thought to myself. Then his eyes twinkled, almost mischievously, and he said something that made my heart flutters. "You will have to give me a new one…"

A nervous laugh escaped me and my cheeks were aflame with an embarrassing blush. He smirked, ever so slightly, at my discomfort. Once again, he brushed a lock of hair from my face.

"You rest now" he murmured. "…I will see you when you wake."

I sat back on my bed and I watched him pick his helmets from the floor. He placed his helmets back on his head and the kind, handsome face disappeared. Once again, the silent Darknut stood before me and my soul felt heavy. My hope was that when I met with him again, he would show me his face. I was oddly excited to know my captor. He did not feel like an enemy, now that I knew his story. In my heart, I knew that if he had the choice, he would be my ally…

For a few long hours, I lay on my bed and my mind ran wild with thoughts of the dark-haired man. Sleep eventually came and for the first time in far too long, I slept soundly.

When I awoke, I sensed something different. The air was electric. Something was coming. It was like waiting for a summer storm to erupt in all its frightful glory. Rain was pouring from the Twilight sky, but that was not unusual in of itself. Far away from the Castle, I felt that Light was touching Hyrule and Light would come again soon. My vigil at the window was much longer than usual. I kept my eyes on the horizon, waiting for the sun to pierce through the haze. My Triforce tingled the skin of my left hand. The goddesses were sending a message. Something was coming.

Then it came, as gentle as a breeze. A gray glow suddenly mixed with the orange hue of dusk. The glow became larger and clearer until I realized that I was seeing clouds. Storm clouds. My heart leapt out of my chest and I threw myself against the barred window of the tower, desperate to see the world outside the Twilight.

Slowly and quickly, the Twilight began to dissipate. The hazy, echoing world of endless darkness gave forth to the world of Light. The sky was gray and drops of clear rain fell from the clouds, but it was _my_ sky. It was my light. The sun was just behind the storm. I could feel her now, so close. My tower room was brighter. The gloom was not so pressing now. I smiled and let out a joyful laugh. It sounded so crisp and clear now that the Twilight was gone. Midna and the Hero had succeeded. We had gained a victory!

My joy did not last long. The door slammed open and I turned around to see the Darknut standing in the doorframe. Part of me wanted to run to him and share in my excitement. Maybe this meant something good for him too! Yet his demeanor was as dark as the day I met him. My heart sank. He was a servant of Ganondorf. With the return of the Light, his Master was surely furious. He would be grasping on to any power he had left, desperate to regain ground. Whatever willpower the man beneath the Darknut had found, it had surely melted away with the Twilight.

"Your Master wants to speak with me, no doubt," I grimly asked the Darknut. I was not looking for him to respond. I knew that he wouldn't. It was just our way; for me to speak and him to stay silent. After one last glance out the window, I walked to the Darknut with a heavy heart. He turned around and marched out to the entryway. I followed him out of the door, down the winding staircase, and through corridors, on our way to the Throne Room to meet my foe. Yet it was so wonderful to see my Castle alive again. Though I was filled with dread at the thought of meeting with Ganondorf, I relished in seeing my home in the light.

"It feels like home again," I dared to say to the Darknut. His head turned at the sound of my voice, but he did not say anything. I smiled a little to myself. Perhaps he was not so gone as I thought. Too soon did we reach the Throne Room. When the Darknut pushed open the heavy doors, my stomach dropped to my knees and I felt ill, but my resolve could not break. Not now, not after the death of the Twilight. It was time to be strong. I sucked in a deep breath and steadied myself, gathering my composure to face Ganondorf. The Darknut let me have this moment. When I was ready, I kept my eyes facing forward and I gave him a stiff nod. It was time. Without a word, he marched into the Throne Room with me in tow.

I was met with a seething Gerudo King, sitting on my throne with a scowl plastered on his grim face. My feet slapped noisily on the smooth marble floor. Zant was cowering in the shadows behind the throne, hiding himself from the lethal light of the sun. A very wicked part of my heart was glad to see him fear the light. But Ganondorf was not cowering. His scowl only intensified as I came nearer to him. Two golden eyes, burning fires of rage, followed my every movement. I did not back down. My eyes met his and we stared each other down until I was standing at the foot of my throne. The Darknut moved to stand at Ganondorf's left. He took his usual intimidating stance, the tip of his sword on the ground and hands wrapped around the massive hilt.

Ganondorf wasted no time in interrogating me. "What have you done to the Twilight?" He growled at me.

"I have done nothing," I replied, my voice stony and calm. Ganondorf's frown deepened and he jumped up from the Throne. In a few thunderous steps, he rushed towards me. Before I could even think, his hand swung through the air. Knuckles slammed into my jaw and I fell to the hard floor. My hands and knees hit the marble and I thought my bones were broken. My head was throbbing and my knees were screaming in pain, but I refused to cry out. With watery eyes, I glared back up at Ganondorf.

"You lie!" He thundered. "All over Hyrule, the Hero has been seen accompanied by a Twili." I tried to come to my knees, but Ganondorf's foot pressed down on my back. My stomach hit the floor and the pressure of his foot kept me pinned down.

"They have thwarted far too many of my plans," he continued, the anger in his voice growing by the second. "They have defeated far too many of my underlings. They could not have done so without aid. So tell me again, Princess…" The pressure became greater. I was struggling to draw breath.

"Tell me the truth…" he hissed venomously. "What have you done?"

Truthfully I had done nothing. Though I met with Midna and the Hero, their success was not my doing. Yet, I would not tell him that the pair had been in my tower. I would sacrifice anything to protect Hyrule's only hope and chance of freedom. The lie was small. The truth was greater. I dared to defy him with my answer. "Nothing," I choked out. That was not what he wanted to hear. Suddenly the pressure was gone, and I took a deep, satisfying breath, but Ganondorf's rage was not satisfied. As soon as I scrambled to my feet, Ganondorf's fist was back. The other side of my face was given a bruise to match the first one. Back to my knees I fell. Cruel fingers grabbed my chin and the face of my enemy was just a breath away. His face was ugly, twisted with anger.

"You will regret lying to me," he threatened darkly. "Defeating the Twilight could not have been done without you." I said nothing to him. My only response was insolent silence and an unwavering glare. I would not back down from my answer, and Ganondorf knew it. His eyes narrowed. His mouth moved into a crazed grimace. Then he snapped. Furious hands were everywhere, hitting and hurting every inch of me he could reach. I tried to scramble away from him. This time, I could not hold back my cries. I threw my arms over my head, trying desperately to protect myself. I did not get the chance to gather my power, to defend myself from this onslaught. Zant watched indifferently from his cowardly hovel in the shadows.

"DO YOU SWEAR IT?" He thundered as he pummeled me.

"I SWEAR IT!" I cried back. Tears streamed carelessly down my face. "Please stop!" I begged, feeling my strength slip away with every blow. Suddenly, the abuse was over. To my utmost surprise, he did stop. I lowered my arms and lifted my head.

Ganondorf wasn't even looking at me. Right beside him towered the Darknut. The knight's hand tightly grasped Ganondorf's shoulder, his sword brandished in the other. The look on Ganondorf's face was almost amusing. He was absolutely bewildered.

"What are you doing?" He demanded, though he sounded more baffled then angry. Ganondorf shoved the Darknut's hand off his shoulder and took a step back from him. The Darknut stayed where he was, but did not put down his sword. Quickly, Ganondorf went from bewildered to livid. "Are you trying to stop me?" He roared. Ganondorf went to draw his own sword. The Darknut hesitated for a second, but then slowly lowered his sword. He could not defy his Master. Ganondorf visibly calmed. His shoulders relaxed and his face fell into an arrogant smirk. My defender took his stance, sword leaning into the marble, and became a statue.

"That's what I thought," Ganondorf scoffed, sliding his sword back into the scabbard. I dreaded him turning back to me, to resume his "interrogation." I had to think of something, anything to defend myself. Thankfully, a thought came to me. There was a constant witness that could confirm my innocence. He had not been my guard the first time Midna and the Hero came to me.

"Ask your Darknut! He was there the whole time," I blurted out. My voice echoed over the cold tiles of the Throne Room. Though my face stung and my body was sore, I mustered one last ounce of courage to defy my enemy. I half-expected Ganondorf to answer me with another blow to my face, but instead…

"You _were_ her guard," Ganondorf turned to the Darknut again. "Did you see anything suspicious?" Anything that you failed to report back to me?"

I could not believe that he considered my opinion! We both waited in silence for the Darknut to speak. I glanced over at my Twilight friend, imagining what the man under the mask would look like as he considered his answer. Perhaps he looked at me with those kind brown eyes, beaten and bruised, sitting on the cold floor. He had come to my defense. He had tried to stop Ganondorf from hurting me. He would surely help me now. Ganondorf was looking for anything to incriminate me, looking for an excuse to hurt me. Surely…surely the man who was the Darknut would find his will again.

Slowly, the Darknut shook his head no. Ganondorf narrowed his eyes at his servant, but said nothing. He cut me a withering glare and then stormed back to the Throne.

"Go back to your tower," he commanded, taking his seat on my Throne. "Don't even try to escape. Just because the Twilight is gone does not mean things will be easy for you now."

He meant for me to go alone. The Darknut would not accompany me. I quickly looked over at him. He had not moved an inch. My heart worried for him. Would he be punished for defying his Master? Would Ganondorf interrogate him further, searching for any sign of mischief from me? I would not ever know, and I would not incriminate myself by standing there, staring longingly at the Darknut. So I turned my back on him, silently thanking him for his intervention, and I hurried from the Throne Room. I did not want to stay in the same room with Ganondorf for another moment.

As I rushed back to my room, two things happened. I noticed that the sky was darkening. Evening, the true evening and not the Twilight, was coming. The storm had grown from a light rain to a torrential downpour. My Triforce was stinging so badly that I stopped to rub my hand. It had not done this since another bearer was in its presence. Since I had just come from seeing Ganondorf, I knew that it could not be his…

The Hero was close. I flew through the Castle. My heart warned me that something was amiss. The tower room was close. I ran up the steps, my breath coming in gasps. My apprehension grew. As I stumbled into the entryway, I paused for a moment. The door to my room was open, but I could see two figures standing in the shadows. One was clearly a wolf. The aura of the Triforce of Courage reverberated from the beast. So, the Hero was still a wolf? Curious, I carefully crept to the door. My cloak, shawl, and blanket were still there, crumpled up and forgotten from the day before. I pulled on my cloak and wrapped the shawl around my face. I did not want them to see the state I was in. Slowly, I pushed the handle and silently entered the room. The beast was crouching over a deathly white Midna, lying pathetically on the floor.

Who would have known then that I would enter that lonely tower room and never return? Who would have known that the feisty Twili imp that called herself Midna was the Princess of the Twilight? I knew then that she needed Hyrule just as much as Hyrule needed her. The Hero named Link could not complete his journey without the Twilight Princess, and she could not defeat Zant and Ganondorf without him. My life, I gladly gave to her. My power poured into Midna and my body faded away. I gave her most of my essence and my power, only leaving barely enough to keep me from the verge of death.

When I came to, I was in a strange place; I was floating high in the air in my very Throne Room, right above my throne. Beneath me sat Ganondorf. He was glaring up at me with a puzzled look on his face, probably wondering what exactly had happened to me. I was neither alive nor dead. My consciousness was there, but only just. My body was just that; a body. It was a confusing, complex use of my power, but I was still there. I could not physically, with my eyes, see what was going on around me. It was as though I were outside my body, seeing myself and seeing through my eyes. It was a strange suspension that I was in, but again, I was still there.

Ganondorf would sit on my throne and brood for hours. It seemed that he did not actually do much himself. Instead, he would bark orders at Zant and the foolish Twili would go running off to heed his Master's orders. I came to see that Zant was not the intimidating, terrifying enemy I had once believed him to be. Rather he was a mad man in the throes of insanity. I felt ashamed that I had succumbed my Kingdom to the likes of him.

What surprised me the most was the other companion that Ganondorf kept around. With nobody to guard in the tower room, the Darknut was constantly at Ganondorf's side. His back would be turned to me, never looking up at my prostrate body floating helplessly in the air. At least, that's how it was when Ganondorf was around. On the rare occasion that Ganondorf would leave the Throne Room, he would have the Darknut stay behind. Ganondorf would lumber across the room and leave the two of us alone. The very second that Ganondorf was out of sight, the Darknut would turn around and march to stand directly under me. His helmeted head would look up at me, his sword held out defensively. There he would stand for hours, until Ganondorf came back. I liked to think that he stood guard for me and not because Ganondorf told him to. The Gerudo never once said, "guard this woman." There was no command, no order. He did it of his own accord. As soon as the Darknut sensed his Master returning, he would lower his sword and march back to his post. I knew within my heart of hearts that he did this of his own free will. Some part of his heart still beat with life. There was a living being underneath all that armor. My Twilight friend still had his willpower, and he used it for me.

I looked back on my promise to him to find a way to free him of his curse. It seemed so futile now. Even in the moment when I said it, I knew that there was such a miniscule chance of helping him. Yet, it saddened me that he was cursed for all eternity. He seemed such a kind soul. I was desperate to help him. The man beneath the Darknut had found a place in my heart, though I did not get the chance to know him as he knew me. Was he sad, when he found my lifeless body lying cold and pale on the floor of the tower room? Did he miss my company as much as I missed his silent companionship?

" _Please do not forget me_ ," he had asked. " _Come and find company in me again_ …" The circumstances of my imprisonment had torn me away from meeting with him again. My duty was to Hyrule and the goddesses. Ultimately, he was an enemy, a servant of Ganondorf. Yet it was a strange, unlikely bond that was between us, and it was a bond that ran far stronger than I had expected.

Time dragged on and I faded in and out of consciousness. Ganondorf came and went. Zant raved like a lunatic. The Darknut stayed silent and stoic through it all. When the Throne Room was empty and quiet, he would come stand sentinel under me. It was bizarre and rather lonely, save for my Twilight friend. I had no idea what was happening in the world outside. So I waited, trapped in my surreal state of being.

A day did come when things came to an explosive end. Ganondorf was brooding on my throne, the Darknut at his right. Some weeks ago, Zant went missing. Rumors circulated that he had been struck down by the Hero. When his death was confirmed by a trusted minion, Ganondorf raged and cursed and threatened my lifeless body. Yet he knew that this time I truly had nothing to do with this devastating loss. From that day forward, he never left the throne, knowing what would happen next. He was waiting for his turn to stand against the Hero. It was inevitable. He had lived through this before. The subsequent step in the game was to face the Hero himself. So there the three of us waited.

Then day arrived when all the roads that had been traversed came to their inevitable end. A servant of Ganondorf came rushing into the Throne Room, all in a panic.

"The barrier around the castle has been breached!" He shrieked, his goblin-like face contorted with fear. "There are intruders on the grounds!"

We had seen the golden barrier surrounding the castle break away. Now, the sun was setting, casting the Throne Room into dusky shadow. The Gerudo King did not stir, letting the darkness of twilight fall over him. "Let them come…" he growled forebodingly. The poor servant cowered at the danger in his master's voice. Ganondorf set his elbow on the arm of my throne and rested his chin on his curled fingers.

"Their path will be fraught with many dangers." Ganondorf sounded as though he were trying to reassure himself. I could sense the doubt in his words. "If all goes according to my plan, then the Hero will never reach me, but just to be sure…" Ganondorf turned his head and nodded knowingly at the dark knight. The Darknut, standing at his right, looked back to his Master and returned the gesture with a stiff nod. Then ever so quiet, the Darknut looked back at me and gave me a nod, hardly seen. Golden eyes narrowed as Ganondorf watched this telling gesture. It was quick, but I saw. To me, it seemed a final goodbye. He was to be the last force to stand against the Hero.

Without another word, the Darknut strode across the room, his armored steps echoing on the marble tiles. The servant followed, looking impossibly small behind the tall, hulking figure. Out of the doors he went, swallowed up by the sunset, off to guard his Master from the Hero.

Ganondorf watched him go, glaring at him the whole way. When he had disappeared, Ganondorf cut his eyes at me suspiciously. "It seems that my servant has a surprising sense of protection over you," he mused aloud. "I suppose any being can be charmed by a damsel in distress with a pretty face." My spirit wrenched at his harsh words, but my body remained helplessly immobile. A crooked smile broke on his cold face.

"I suppose now we wait for the Hero to arrive. How amusing, the three of us together again after a century apart. Wisdom, Power, and Courage…let us see what happens now." With one last withering glare, Ganondorf turned away from me and went back to his brooding.

The sun had not fully dipped below the horizon before we heard the sounds of footsteps coming up the stairs into the Throne Room. Ganondorf sank deeper into my Throne. It seemed as though his defenses had not kept this menace at bay. The Darknut had surely fallen. The green-clad figure of the Hero came bursting through the open doors, Midna at his side. His face was a fire, Master Sword brandished. The fight to the death that Ganondorf dreaded was now here. As thrilled as I was to see my Hero, it saddened me that my only friend through this ordeal had been on the wrong side of the light…

So the ensuing battle began. Everything happened in a dreadful blur; the sickening act of Ganondorf's soul possessing my body, the beast called Ganon raging around the Throne Room, the restoration of my physical body, Midna sacrificing herself to save myself and Link…

After watching my castle crumble to the ground, I took too much delight in helping Link shoot light arrows at Ganondorf. Then it came to the final battle…the culmination off all the rage and revenge that had been building for the past year. Link and Ganondorf battled. I was sealed off from Link by a golden barrier. It was just the two of them. There was no magic, no intervention from an outsider; just the two men and their swords, clashed in a battle to the death.

I watched as Link ended the Gerudo King's life with a final blow, the boy's sword piercing Ganondorf's chest. I felt as though that sword was piercing my own heart. To me, it was a hollow victory. Far too much blood had been shed, and I did not relish in the thought of lost life, even one so wretched as Ganondorf's. Yet, the feeling did not last. My Hyrule was free. I rushed to Link's side and we watched on the horizon as the Light Spirits restored my castle. They moved to the field where we were and then a small figure emerged from their divine embraces. Midna was resurrected. Link took off without a word and I saw a glimpse of how deeply their bond ran. Their reunion struck a chord in me and I wondered what else the Light Spirits were willing to restore…

As soon as that thought crossed the threshold of my mind, I cast it aside. It was selfish of me to wish for that. Without a doubt, the Darknut's soul had been forced back into that dark place, waiting once more for his Master's call. My heart grieved him, grieved for the man that he once was, and grieved for the despondent being that he was cursed into.

Though I could not dwell on my personal grievances. The next few days were full of life and light and happiness. Hyrule was on her way to recovery and I was reinstated as ruling Princess. The dark blot on the bright days was Midna's cruel, permanent departure. Her act saddened the Hero and though he stayed quiet and calm, I could see his anguish in his eyes. Link stayed at my castle for a time afterward. He was a companion to me, reminding me so much of another quiet friend. Hyrule was free and the dust was settling after the ordeal, but our hearts still beat in the shadowy world of Twilight. The eternal dusk was slow to leave our memories. For a long while, both of us were haunted by the Twilight. Also, both of us had another in mind, neither of our companions allowed to live in this world of Light. We mourned them in our own ways, and through our shared experience, we forged a bond of friendship. There came an evening where we sat together on the steps of the Throne Room.

Link had been particularly pensive this day. His blue eyes roamed the dusky horizon and I could tell that he was thinking of her. It surprised me when he spoke in his soft voice, breaking the spell of the sunset.

"Do you ever feel a strange sadness as dusk falls?" He asked gently. I turned to him. He glanced at me and a shadow of a smile was on his face. "They say it's the only time when our world intersects with theirs..." He continued. "The only time we can feel the lingering regrets of spirits who have left our world. That is why loneliness always pervades the hour of twilight..."

"That was lovely, Link," I praised as I felt my heart swell with longing. "Lovely and yet so very sad." Link's smile fell and he gazed back at the setting sun. "Rusl told me that once," he explained. "I didn't understand it at the time but now…" I heard him sigh and his shoulders fell as he did so. "Now I know what he means... At sunset I fell like she's with me again." His voice faded and we fell into silence, a silence that I welcomed; one that I found familiar and comforting. I closed my eyes and listened to the dusk. A face, handsome and poignant came to mind, and I recalled the sound of his voice. It was almost as if he truly were here again, listening to my incessant talking and me never knowing that I was winning over the heart of my enemy's greatest servant. Our encounter, as brief as it may have been, I could not forget. What he had felt for me, I may never know, but all of me wished that we had a chance to know one another….a chance for him to be free…and truly…

For a chance to explore the bond that Twilight had forged.

 **Three years after the Twilight Invasion…**

The lush countryside flashed before my eyes through the carriage window. A storm had given fresh life to the greenery of Hyrule, and now the sun was shining in all of its glory. It felt so good to be in the light, after our ordeal. Three years had passed since then, but I still found myself unsettled in the dusk and darkness.

In my fingers I clutched a letter with a message that was rather out of the ordinary. Across from me sat a blue-eyed young man, golden Triforce on his left hand and sword at his right. We sat quietly as the carriage swayed back and forth on the bumpy road. Several days before I had received a message from a notorious horse breeder, requesting that I come visit him, for he had something of interest to show me. The Twilight had made me a suspicious person and I no longer took any chances. More likely than not, my visit to the horse breeder was innocent, but I wanted to protect myself, just in case. Link happened to be visiting me when the letter came and he agreed to accompany me on my visit. Our friendship had grown over the course of three years and we became like brother and sister to one another.

"He most likely wants to sell me one of his finest horses," I pondered aloud. "Or perhaps he wants one of my own mares for his purposes?" Link looked back at me and shrugged. His lack of response did not offend me, but rather I came to expect this from his quiet nature. It was only a few hour's journey to the breeder's estate, so we arrived in the late evening. The setting sun was especially lovely. The sun was a soft golden glow, brushing the remaining clouds with pink and red. It was a gentle sky that looked down on us as we pulled up to the lovely estate. There were hills with tall grass, dotted with peacefully grazing horses surrounded us. It was a place that I had been before, and I usually enjoyed my visits to this peaceful haven. The breeder, a short man by the name of Leigh with a temperate manner, greeted us. He was the perfect sort of man to acquaint himself with horses, as they required a calm master. It made me feel guilty that I had suspected him of any wrongdoing, but the nature of his letter was so unusual. He greeted us warmly and led us to the stables.

"I apologize for asking you here so unexpectedly, your Highness. I am certain that my letter was rather vague, but I wanted to surprise you…" he explained as we followed him into the stables. We passed stall after stall of beautiful mares and stallions until we reached the end, where a large stall held a very large horse. Leigh stopped in front of this stall. "After you, your Highness," he murmured as he undid the latch to the gate. Curious, I stepped inside the stall with the stallion. He was a rich brown color, almost black, and had a white blaze running down his broad nose. White, feathery fur covered massive hooves. This beast was nearly seventeen hands tall, from what I could tell, and he was thick and muscled.

"What have you here?" I asked, more than curious now. The stallion ambled towards me and I held out my hand to touch his soft neck. A black mane fell over his neck. The stallion leaned into my touch and I could see that he was relaxed.

"He's a gentle one…" I whispered, remembering a gentle giant much like this one. Leigh and Link watched as I made friends with the placid stallion. "Aye," replied Leigh. "He may look like a beast, but he is as gentle as any old mare that I've met. My own little ones can ride him as easy as they can a pony." Leigh walked to my side and patted the stallion on his rump. "He's bred just for you, your Highness. It took us a while to get it right, but here he is."

"For me?" I asked, surprised. "I appreciate your offer, but I did not request a new horse…what has inspired your generosity?"

Leigh shrugged his shoulders and an amused grin passed over his face. "I heard that you once had a horse you loved, one like this that was big and gentle. He was your favorite. I tried to make one just like him."

My stomach turned nervously in my stomach. My face must have paled for Link came to me, his face full of concern. "Zelda?" He asked with a shade of worry in his voice. "Are you alright?"

My heart beat rapidly in my chest and my mind was confused, trying to figure out how in the world this breeder knew of the old horse…only a scant few knew of him and most of them were servants at my castle. There was one other who knew, but it was impossible-

"How did you know?" I stammered. "How did you come up with that idea?"

Leigh shuffled uncomfortably as he watched me growing shock. "Well your Majesty. It wasn't my idea, honestly."

"Whose idea was it?" I blurted, forgetting my Princess manners. It did not matter to me to be dignified. This was a matter of the heart.

"A hired hand of mine. He came to me just after the Twilight Invasion was ended. He had this wild idea to breed just the perfect horse for the Princess. All the work…all the breeding…it was all him. He was very keen on creating just the right horse for you." Leigh explained, though he looked as if he were afraid that I would order his head chopped off at any second." Is everything alright, your Majesty?"

My heart was bursting inside my chest. It could not be! Who else could it be? "Where is this man now?" I demanded, desperation in my voice.

"He's over yonder, on the hills, tending to the herd," he pointed towards the stable doors. His brow was pulled into a frown and his mouth twitched with worry. "Have we done something wrong, your Majesty?"

The words had hardly left his mouth before I was rushing down the path, going to the door as fast I could. Footsteps followed me and a hand grabbed my arm.

"Zelda?" I heard Link behind me. "Is everything alright?" I turned around and clutched Link's hand.

"You needn't follow me, Link." I answered. I could hardly contain myself. "There is no time to explain but…" I remembered the careful protection of the Darknut; the way he let me talk to him, the times he stood beneath my prone form, how he stopped Ganondorf's assault. If my suspicions were right, then- "I will be safe," I assured my friend. Link raised his brows at me, but he willingly let me go.

I followed the direction that Leigh had pointed. I marched past the stables and paddocks and into the fields beyond. There on the golden horizon was a hill. The tall grass swayed in the soft evening breeze as I climbed the knoll. Below me was the estate and endless green sea of rolling hills and grass. When I reached the top, I saw that I was not alone. A man, impossibly tall and broad was leading a horse through the grass. The sunset was at his back, so his face was cast in shadow. He must have caught sight of me, illuminated by the painted sky, for he stopped and stood still.

"Who are you," I cried out, my voice shaking. I would feel like such a silly fool if I were wrong, but in my heart I knew that I had to be right. Nobody else knew the things that he did. Who else would want to replicate my dear horse from my childhood? Only he knew. The shadowy figure did not make a sound. The silence that he answered me with was enough to confirm. It was his way.

I rushed to him. He dropped the lead, letting the horse go free. As I came to him, the shadow over his face lifted. Kind brown eyes gazed down at me. I raised my arms to embrace him, but he clasped my hands in his own.

"You're alive?" I breathed. His face was not the gaunt, ashen façade I had seen before. It was full of life and vitality. A faint smile hid underneath his beard and he squeezed my fingers. How different he looked, no longer burdened by heavy, bulky armor. He wore a simple peasant shirt and breeches, looking so much like any other man. It was a pleasant sight. I could see strength in his arms and his chest. My skin tingled as I felt a blush creeping over my cheeks. A full smile lit up his face as he saw me flushing.

My voice shook as I ventured the obvious question. "How are you alive?" My memory came to life as I let myself go back to the field, moments after Ganondorf's defeat. The Light Spirits restoring my castle and Midna…surely they did not show mercy on the servant of our enemy? Did they know his heart as I did? Did they spare his soul because of my connection to him? Did they trust what I trusted? It did not matter the answer. That would come in time. We would speak of it later. In this moment, all that mattered was that my Twilight friend had come back to me.

His hand, no longer cold, but warm and gentle cupped my face and he brought me to him. This time I could feel the warmth of his breath, his mouth so close to my own.

"What is my name, Zelda," He asked in a rich voice. Even the tones of his voice were melodic and vibrant, no longer belonging to a cursed man. "I gave you the honor of giving me a new name for my new life…"

He patiently awaited my answer while I gazed at him, still amazed to see him living. There was only one name that came to mind. It was probably silly and sentimental, but it fit him perfectly. No other name would do.

"Beren," I whispered shyly. His rugged face broke into a handsome smile, the first true smile I had seen on him. My shyness deepened and I smiled back at him. His fingertips moved my face ever so closer to his. "Oh to kiss your sweet lips and know what it means to be alive…" he murmured lovingly as he brought his lips to mine.

* * *

This one is weird. I like what I like to write and not what's popular. I hope that you enjoyed this one even though its different. Don't forget to tell me what you think, and thank you for reading!


End file.
